We mostly think of stuffed mushrooms as a delicious hot appetizer. While this is definitely a great way to think of them, they can also make for a great meal! A few on a plate with a salad and you're all set for dinner or lunch!

I find mushrooms and sausage to be a magical combination. Especially a sausage with a bit of spice — it's so wonderful with the earthiness of the mushroom! This little bundle is a bit like a mushroom burger — minus the bun!

Preparation:

Squeeze the meat out of the sausage casings and into a small saute pan. Cook over medium heat until it's cooked through, about 5 minutes.

While the sausage is cooking, drizzle half of the olive oil onto a baking sheet. Wash, dry, and remove the stems from the mushrooms. Place them, round side down, on the baking sheet, and sprinkle with salt a pepper.

Once the sausage meat is cooked and cooled a bit, use a chef's knife to finely chop it. Mix it with the sage and half a cup of the cheese in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

Spoon this mixture into each mushroom cap. Gently press the mixture into the caps, so each one is filled completely and slightly overflowing.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese and bread crumbs evenly over the mushrooms and drizzle with the remaining olive oil.

Bake in the preheated oven until the mushrooms are sizzling and browned, about 20 minutes.

An additional note:

These can easily be made vegetarian. Simply omit the sausage, double the cheese, and add 2 extra tablespoons of breadcrumbs to the filling.

Valentina's passion is food, and she loves spending time in her "kitchen retreat," as she refers to that room in her house. Valentina develops recipes for creative and comforting food that works perfectly for casual entertaining. Both her recipes and food photography have been featured many times on popular food websites and in print. Valentina shares her beautiful photographs as well as new and interesting recipes almost daily on her blog, Cooking on the Weekends.

Outside the worlds of food and photography, Valentina's other passion is her family (including her two young boys, her husband and her puppy, Maple.)

To learn more about Valentina and where her work has been featured, visit her About page at Cooking On The Weekends.